Deli Moroccan – Moroccan Magic

Imagine having a Moroccan meal, alfresco style, with a cool breeze wafting past, the magnificent Sultan Mosque and its golden domes as a backdrop. Ain’t that quaint? I had it all at Deli Moroccan, a humble restaurant along Bussorah Street.

One afternoon I just had the sudden urge to go for an otherworldly cuisine. It would be something I’ve never eaten before – Moroccan food! A perfect place to have this exotic meal would be none other than the exotic Kampong Glam, a haven of various Mediterranean restaurants. It’s also where I had my first Egyptian meal.

So what’s Moroccan food like? As a first-timer, I didn’t really know what to expect. I had heard about the Moroccan tajines, which I knew was some kind of meat stew. So that’s the first thing I ordered. My tajine chicken with potato came looking like this.

Tajine Chicken with Potato
S$6.50+
Rating:

The first thought that came to my mind was, “Whoa! That’s a LOT of potatoes on one plate”. For someone that prefers her potatoes to be either whipped or wedges, I felt a tinge of disappointment. But it was short-lived as I soon found the potato stew to be quite tasty, though not exactly in the bursting-with-flavour kind of way. The potatoes are lusciously soft and I even had the urge to ask them what kind of potatoes they use!

The chicken is succulent and tender, with flesh that falls off the bone easily. I found the taste to be a tad mild though. The next time round, I would go for the other slightly pricier tajine chicken on the menu that is cooked in a tomato-based sauce with onion, garlic and spices. Oh, and pita bread too to go with the stew sauce.

Mixed Kebab
S$7.50+
Rating:

Something you can’t go wrong with over here is the mixed kebab, of chicken and ground beef, served with fresh lettuce, tomato and beans. My, that beef is good! I usually prefer chicken, but this time round, with both meats on the same plate and done the same way, my vote goes to the beef.

Each morsel of meat is soft and juicy and hooks you from the first bite. The meat is really flavourful, infused with the taste of onion and various Moroccan herbs and spices. This is one dish that would leave every meat lover craving for more! I guess it’s a good thing then that the prices here are extremely reasonable considering the rarity of this cuisine.

It is highly recommended that you patronise Deli Moroccan on a cool and dry day. This way, you can dine outdoors and people-watch. (But more likely than not, you’ll end up being watched by curious passers-by as you’re tucking into your unique Moroccan meal. My food and I received more than our fair share of stares.)

The restaurant itself is pretty small and nondescript. I walked up and down Bussorah Street a couple of times and couldn’t find it, until I even had to stop to ask for directions! I behaved like a tourist, which in some ways, is the effect this place has on you.

Despite being a food blogger, I wouldn’t dare say that I am well-versed in all the cuisines of the world. Quite the contrary, I tend to linger in my comfort zone of Indian, Japanese or South-East Asian food. I think most people are like that. How often do you try out a new cuisine that you have never attempted before?

After enjoying two otherworldly cuisines – Egyptian and Moroccan – I can’t wait to go on my next foodie adventure! I had Turkish some time back and didn’t quite like it. What would you recommend?

Oooo! I love stewed potatoes! Did the potatoes take in the flavour of the stew? I’ve eaten quite a few dishes that tasted of steamed potatoes thrown in within the last 5 minutes of cooking, and I’ve always wanted to eat a decent potato stew!

so nice preview of moroccan food with the view of kampong glam .i expect i can get know all major restaurant of that area which makes me try arabic food. And i try mint tea from deli moroccan cafe, yea its nice to drink for relax although hot.you should try.

i went to try this out yesterday and woah! it was damn good! we tried the mixed kebab and lamb tajine! i think the mixed kebab was so so but the lamb tajine was FAB! hahaha. really you should try it! lamb tajine is cooked differently from the chicken tajine i see in your post. yups. and just to let you know, there wasn’t any 7% charge! all prices on the menu are NETT. thx for intro-ing this place! =)

Veron,
Absolutely agreed! I was just like you one Saturday afternoon while taking some shots of Arab Street. With stomach growling I suddenly saw something on the menu and thot I should try. My first try was Mutton Tajine with bread and Moroccon tea. Oh my goodness, I fall for the food until today. Good food, good price and nice ambience.

I discovered this restaurant through this blog and I used to frequent this place since 2010 specially during my pregnancy because their dishes are value for money considering the quality and serving that they USED to have. Just yesterday evening, I took an overseas based friend for dinner here together with some of our colleagues who are also familiar with the food at Deli Moroccan. Man, we were very surprised with how pathetic the serving of their tajine is :( Before they used to place it in clay-like perforated plates with VERY generous amount of sauce and meat that can be shared by atleast 2-3. Now the serving drastically reduced by 60%. And their mixed kebab platter, before they used to serve chunks of meat, now what they do is they serve ground beef/lamb and shape them similar to kofta. We were very disappointed I must say. While the service is also something that they really need to work on eversince, I wish the owner considered keeping her Filipino servers who were very efficient and knowledgeable with food, coz their current servers there (Indian/Malay girls) are so slow. Some food arrived at the table cold and we suspect that they forgot to serve the food to us ASAP. The “mixed kebab” that we ordered is even burned (but in fairness they changed it when we raised our concern about it), We got at the place at around quarter to 9, ordered 4 main dishes and last dish arrived at our table almost 10pm. As much as I still love the taste of their Tajine and couscous, I don’t think I’ll be back again to this place after our last visit. I think it’s time also to check other Moroccan restaurants around the area.